Fear the Reaper: A McKenzie Novel

After taking down a man wielding an AR-15 a small town winery, Rushmore McKenzie has to find out who, if anyone, was the shooter's target before he, or someone else, tries again.

Once a police detective in St. Paul, Minnesota, Rushmore McKenzie, after becoming an unexpected millionaire, now is an unlicensed private investigator, doing the occasional investigative favor. Off on a weekend getaway to northwestern Wisconsin, McKenzie, with a group of five, including his childhood friend and current police detective Bobby Dunston, stop off at a local winery. When a man walks up carrying an AR-15, which he raises, props the butt against his shoulder, and sights down the barrel - but before he can do anything, Bobby Dunston yells 'gun' and he and McKenzie take the man down.

The would-be shooter was arrested, and normally, that would be the end of it. But Wisconsin is an open carry state and the police can't prove that the gunman was intended to do anything. But it does appear that he might have been looking for one specific target. And, if so, that person is not out of danger. Now, before the gunman is released, McKenzie decides to find out who was the real target and why, before it is too late.

Author: David Housewright
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Published: 06/23/2026
Pages: 320
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 0.85lbs
Size: 8.50h x 5.66w x 1.10d
ISBN: 9781250360489


Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 04/15/2026
Booklist 05/01/2026

About the Author
DAVID HOUSEWRIGHT has won the Edgar Award and is the three-time winner of the Minnesota Book Award for his crime fiction. He is a past president of the Private Eye Writers of America (PWA). He lives in St. Paul, Minnesota.